The Defense Department's program to provide land buffers near its bases
has been effective in relieving military training and testing operations
from encroachment pressures, but the program's funding and activities
should be accelerated before land development hinders future buffering
opportunities, according to a RAND Corporation report issued today.

The Office of the Secretary of Defense asked the RAND Corporation, a
nonprofit research organization, to assess the effectiveness of the
department's Readiness and Environmental Protection Initiative (REPI)
and recommend ways to improve the program.

Started in 2003, REPI was created to assist military bases, which
perform operations such as exercise and testing, with "encroachment"
issues that threaten their overall readiness, training, and testing
capabilities. Encroachment refers to factors such as suburban sprawl,
complaints of noise and air pollution, threatened and endangered
species, competition for air space and radio frequency, and water
quality and supply.